EU Foreign Chief Talks with Japanese Foreign Minister by Phone: "Important to Discuss North Korea-China Issues at G7"

Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, had a phone call with Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, on the 16th (local time), according to a press release from the EU External Action Service (EEAS).

Borrell, who is unable to attend the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Japan on the same day due to COVID-19, emphasized in the call "the importance of G7 discussions on China and North Korea in the current geopolitical and regional context."

He also mentioned the need to continue cooperation with partner countries in the Indo-Pacific region. The two sides expressed their intention to strengthen cooperation between the EU and Japan for peace and security, given the increasing pressures from geopolitical instability and the security environment, EEAS reported.

According to Japanese media including Kyodo News, the G7 Foreign Ministers are scheduled to discuss nuclear disarmament, the war in Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific situation at the meeting held from the 16th to the 18th in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.